FESTO Help ASAP!!!!
 

Oh man....we are stuck in a bind with this FESTO!!!!!

From what i see we arent the only ones that are having problems. What should we do?!



:confused:

Hmmm
 

This is a tough one...

We worked on this until about 1:00am Sunday morning...

The leadscrew is grounded and plugged in correctly,

we've got red 10 gauge wire to the exhaust port,

there's two wing nuts on top... just like the manual says.

Man... I don't know... I kinda feel like Austin there, who is so frustrated that he is crying over the robot.

We really need help on this... any other ideas?

Andy B.

ps... nooo, Clark, you can't take the RotoZip to the Festo Valve!

Re: Hmmm
 

I'm currently reading the manual and spec sheet on the Festo Valve, and all I can say is that I am stumped beyond belief...

Guys,
It is now 2:00 AM and we have been working on the same thing. We discovered that 10 AWG is not rated for 60 PSI, try #6. Can you bring your robot to our shop and we can work on this problem together? The gangs all here!

Didn't you guys read team update #42? It specifically states that you need to install a Magnetic Field Alignment Device (MFAD) in order to keep the solenoid aligned with the magnetic field of the Earth. Basically, it is a device that will continually rotate the valve so that the Magnetic Field from the Earth doesn't interfere with the operation of the magnetic solenoid. See attached picture for one such device that I found. Note, however, that you must use the "H" variety of MFAD as the "G" variety is specifically outlawed by the part-use flowchart.

Also, according to team update #74, you no longer need to ship the MFADs with the robot.

Oh the problems....
 

Oh man....those MFAD's are really hard to get a hold of. Delphi only uses the "D" variety and our local Wal-Mart is out of both the "H" and the "G" variety. Need more help!

:ahh:

I have one for sale, if anybody needs a MFAD. Its a bit bigger then the newer models, but its going cheap:

http://www.pubarso.com/misc/izzy.jpg

After working all night and well into the morning, we gave up and decided to fix it in software.

Thank goodness we can always fix any problem in software!

Didnt team 190 have a "g" type two years ago at their pit?

Im pretty sure it was a "g" type...It was in a cage next to their pit at the 2001 Indiana Robotics Invitational.

2003 IRI is July 18th and 19th, sign up for it!

had to get that in there somehow :D

Clark, Andy and DJ,
We are still waiting on the software fix but we don't have an answer just yet, so we are still pursuing the hardware route. Something keeps buzzing around in my head but I can't grasp it. Something about grounding the lead screw just doesn't seem right.....

Oooo, Thats A Tough One...
 

Man Oh Man! We Grounded Part Of Our Electronics To Our Frame Too! :ahh: We Were In The Beta Phase, And An Extra Ground Wire That Was Going To Be Used For A Fan, And Yeah, I Plugged In The Battery, Flipped The Breaker, And ZAP! BLARGH Did That Hurt. :D Masochist I Am... Good Luck With All Of This!

P.S. Colors On Wire Is Irrelevant! Red To Black! :D

Well, all-
:( We never got this to work, so we just decided to scrap it. I'm glad that we made that critical decision before pittsburgh, i don't know if we would have had time to fix it then! ahhh!

well, if you figure it out for next year, be sure to let us know :)

TEchnokats...

If you want i would be happy to grab some of my team members...pile into my van and drive over to kokomo and help you debug this problem if you want to take some time and fix it in the offseason. We surely could give you some advice on your pneumatic sitiation.

I'm sure we could get your problems all figured out:)



PS> I once ate the extra gasket in the festo...doesn't taste good and takes for ever to bite through it.

solution
 

Taking a page out of our top advisors book, first you need to use a gryo to control your grounding bus, then you need to grease the leadscrew so you will have good connection, finally grind the leadscrew to have a countercolckwise thread!!!!!! The 3 g's of team 222. It always works and don't be too liberal with the grease. If every member on the team doesn't get grease on them at least once from the robot, you need much more!!!

cliff
222 alum

Re: solution
 

Cliff,
Did you mean "stingy" instead of liberal above? I would also add that it is imperative the the grease be conductive, i.e. containing aluminum or copper compounds and that it conform to the rule book specifications. Use #6 grease on battery primary leadscrews and #10 grease on the other screws, color coded, of course!

no conductive grease
 

we don't want the ground to be too good. the only grease we use is lithium!

I spent at least half an hour fiddling with the festo, trying to figure out how it worked to no avail. glad to see you got it! ;)